You’d think it would be enough to make J.D. Walton feel a bit insecure.

Either that or angry.

Walton, 25, started every game at center in his first two seasons with the Broncos. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, his foot speed and mobility at times were considered drawbacks. But his toughness, durability and savvy were admirable, seemingly stamping him as a solid center who could carve out a long career.

Still, Walton in the offseason was on the verge of losing the No. 1 center’s job.

In the wake of signing Peyton Manning, the Broncos made a run at veteran free-agent center Jeff Saturday. That made sense, considering that from the 2000 season on with Indianapolis, Manning took almost all of his snaps from Saturday.

After joining the Colts in Manning’s second season and switching from guard to center in Manning’s third, Saturday became accustomed to making the blocking calls and also sorting out the Indianapolis quarterback’s pre snap maneuvering — specifying pass routes, choosing from among the multiple plays mentioned in the huddle or specifying a different play altogether. Then Saturday would get Manning the ball and, if the play called for it, help protect him.

That sort of preplay scenario often plays out throughout the league. Yet the level of Manning’s activity — whether meaningful or occasionally merely histrionic — between the break of the huddle and the snap is at least unusual, bordering on the unprecedented. It’s mandatory that Manning’s center is on the same page.

But, three days after Manning signed with the Broncos, Saturday agreed to a two-year, $7.75-million deal with the Packers, and Walton — still the Broncos’ starting center as the 2012 season approaches — resolved to philosophically accept the Broncos’ pursuit of his possible replacement.

“He’s one of the best centers to play this game,” Walton said after the Broncos’ Sunday practice. “You definitely have respect for that kind of guy. The organization has to take a look at every player.”

Then, in April, the Broncos used a fourth-round draft choice on Canadian-born center Philip Blake who — like Walton — played at Baylor. He has worked at both guard and center with Denver.

“It’s a good thing to have another Baylor guy on the team,” Walton said with a smile. “It’s fun.”

Fun enough that Walton might help Blake sing the Baylor fight song at the rookie show?

“No, no,” Walton said emphatically. “He’s on his own on that.”

Shortly after Manning’s signing, Walton began to work on fine-tuning his familiarity and comfort level with Manning — and vice versa. And that process is continuing in the early stages of training camp.

“He had a great center before,” Walton said. “I want to work every day and bust my butt and hopefully be his center for the rest of his career.”

Walton called the new QB-center relationship “a work in progress, definitely every day.” He added: “One thing we work on is getting to know each other a little better and get familiar with how each other works. He does have a big vocabulary on the football field. We’re putting in new things every day. The O-line, we keep working together and going over stuff and we’re good at communicating up front, so that helps out.”

He said that making the blocking calls amid Manning’s maneuvering is an adjustment.

“I’m glad I have four other guys who work next to me, and we all talk it over and make sure it’s the right way,” Walton said.

A graduate of Wheat Ridge High School and the University of Colorado, former Denver Post writer Terry Frei has been named a state's sportswriter of the year seven times -- four times in Colorado and three times in Oregon. He's the author of seven books, including the novel "Olympic Affair" about Colorado's Glenn Morris, the 1936 Olympic decathlon champion; and "Third Down and a War to Go," about the 1942 football national champion Wisconsin Badgers and the players' subsequent World War II heroism.

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